Jewish Group Congratulates TSA On New Scan Software That Avoids Body-Specific Images

The Transportation Security Administration announced last week that it will begin installing new software on its body imaging machines at airports that will eliminate body-specific images.  The new Automated Target Recognition software will display a generic outline of a person for all passengers, but will still show where suspected weapons or explosives are located on a passenger's body. If no threat is detected, the monitor will display OK, with no body outline. The Orthodox Jewish group Agudah Israel of America, which had been concerned about privacy issues posed by software that displays an actual body image of an individual, commended the TSA on its new initiative.  JTA reports that in a statement issued Thursday, Agudah said that this shows they were correct in believing that both religious concerns about privacy and security needs could be accommodated with sufficient perseverance.